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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  NO.  155 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH 
MUSKMELONS 


BY  JOHN  W. 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  APRIL,  1912 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  155 

1.  This  publication  reports  the  results  of  fertilizer  experiments  with  musk- 
melons   conducted  at  Anna,   in   Union   county,   and   at    Kinmundy,    in    Marion 
county,  for  five  years.  Page  25 

2.  Twenty  different  fertilizer  treatments  were  employed.  Page  26 

3.  The  melons  were  grown  by  the  transplanting  method  at  Anna;  while  at 
Kinmundy  the  seed  was  planted  directly  in  the  field.  Page  29 

4.  A  mixture  of  steamed  bone,  dried  blood  and  potassium  sulfate,  applied 
to  the  hills,  had  an  unfavorable  influence  on  the  germination  of  seed   in  the 
field-planted  crop.  Page  29 

5.  Marked  differences  appeared  in  the  vigor  and  rapidity  of  growth  of  the 
young  plants,   which   were   plainly   attributable   to '  differences   in    the    fertilizer 
treatment  of  the  various  plats.     Manuring  in  the  hill  seemed  especially  favor- 
able to  the  rapid  development  of  the  young  plants.  Page  31 

6.  The  melons  on  the  untreated  plat  in  the   field-planted  crop   were  con- 
siderably later  in  ripening  than  those  on  plats  manured  in  the  hill.          Page  38 

7.  In  the  field-planted   crop,  plats  manured  in  the   hill  gave  much  higher 
average  yields  of  early  melons  than  those  manured  broadcast  only.        Page  40 

8.  The  average  total  yields  were  increased  by  supplementing  the  manure  in 
the  hill  by  a  light  application  of  manure  broadcast.  Page  43 

9.  The  average  value  of  the  crop  for  the  five  years  at  Anna  was  greatest 
from  the  plat  in  which  the  manuring  in  the  hill  was  supplemented  by  a  broad- 
cast  application    of    a   complete    fertilizer,    composed    of    steamed    bone,    dried 
blood,  and  potassium  sulfate ;  and  at  Kinmundy  the  average  value  of  the  crop 
resulting  from  this  treatment  was  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  crop  on 
the  plat  manured  both  broadcast  and  in  the  hills,  which  ranked  first  in  respect 
to  value  of  the  crop.  Page  47 

10.  However,  on  account  of  the  high  cost  of  the  material  for  this  treat- 
ment, the  net  profits  were  greater  from  crops  grown  under  some  of  the  other 
treatments.     In  the  field-planted  crop  the  greatest  average  profit   for  the  five 
years  was  from  the  plat  in  which  rock  phosphate  was  used  with  the  manure  in 
the  hills.     However,   during  the  time  the  plat  treated   with   one-eighth   scoop- 
shovelful  of  manure  per  hill  was  included  in  the  tests,  the  average  net  profits 
at  bqth  places  were  greater  from  this  than  from  any  of  the  other  treatments, 
on  account  of  the  low  cost  of  the  material  due  to  the  smallness  of  the  quantity 
used.  Page  49 

IT.  Conclusions.  Page  63 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH 
MUSKMELONS 

BY  JOHN  W.  L/LfOYD,  CHIEF  IN  OLERICULTURE 

The  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  has  conducted  fer- 
tilizer experiments  with  muskmelons  at  Anna,  in  Union  county, 
and  at  Kinmundy,  in  Marion  county,  during  the  seasons  of  1905, 
1906,  1907,  1908  and  1909.  The  chief  objects  of  the  experi- 
ments have  been  to  determine  (i)  the  relative  efficiency  of  dif- 
ferent amounts  of  manure  and  methods  of  application  of  manure, 
(2)  the  effect  of  supplementing  manure  with  commercial  forms 
of  phosphorus,  (3)  the  effect  of  using  a  complete  commercial 
fertilizer  in  connection  with  manure,  and  (4)  the  effect  of  substi- 
tuting commercial  fertilizer  for  manure,  in  the  production  of 
Gem  melons  under  soil  conditions  and  cultural  methods  typical 
of  two  of  the  leading  melon  producing  regions  of  Illinois. 

At  both  places  the  experiments  have  been  conducted  on  typi- 
cal melon  soil  of  the  region,  that  at  Anna  being  unglaciated  yellow 
silt  loam,  and  that  at  Kinmundy,  gray  silt  loam.  The  experi- 
ments at  Anna  were  conducted  on  land  that  had  been  under  cul- 
tivation for  sixty  or  seventy  years,  and  that,  within  recent  years, 
had  been  manured  and  fertilized  in  various  ways  for  the  produc- 
tion of  truck  crops.  The  land  used  at  Kinmundy,  except  in  1907, 
had  been  very  recently  cleared  of  timber,  and  that  used  in  1907 
had  been  in  sod  for  a  number  of  years  previous  to  1904.  The 
land  used  in  1905  had  produced  only  one  crop  preceding  the 
melons,  and  the  melons  constituted  the  first  crop  produced  after 
clearing,  on  the  land  used  in  1908  and  1909.  So  far  as  known, 
the  land  used  these  three  years  had  never  been  manured  or  fertil- 
ized in  any  way  previous  to  its  preparation  for  th^se  melons. 
The  land  used  in  1906  and  1907  had  received  one  light  applica- 
tion of  manure  for  preceding  crops  after  breaking  from  the  sod. 
At  both  places  a  different  piece  of  land  was  used  for  the  experi- 
ments each  year,  so  that  there  was  no  cumulative  effect  of  the 
fertilizer  treatments  employed. 

Thruout  the  series  of  experiments  plats  consisting  of  sixty- 
four  (64)  hills  each  have  been  employed.  The  hills  in  each  plat 
were  arranged  in  four  rows  of  sixteen  hills  each.  At  Anna  the 

25 


26  BULLETIN    No.   155  [April, 

hills  were  four  and  one-half  feet  apart  each  way  except  the 
first  year,  when  they  were  four  and  one-half  by  five  feet.  Planted 
at  the  former  distance  each  plat  occupied  .0297  of  an  acre,  and 
at  the  latter  distance  .033  of  an  acre.  At  Kimnundy  the  hills 
were  placed  four  feet  one  and  one-half  inches  apart  each  way, 
so  that  the  sixty-four  hills  .occupied  an  area  one  rod  wide  and 
four  rods  long,  or  exactly  one-fortieth  of  an  acre. 


FERTILIZER  TREATMENTS  EMPLOYED 

Twenty  different  fertilizer  treatments  have  been  employed, 
tho  not  all  the  different  treatments  have  been  used  at  both  places 
every  "year.  The  various  treatments  were  as  follows,  the  quanti- 
ties of  fertilizing  material  mentioned  being  the  amounts  applied 
per  plat,  except  where  otherwise  designated : 

Plat  i.    500  pounds  manure  broadcast 

Plat  2.    500  pounds  manure  and   sixteen   pounds  steamed   bone   broadcast 

Plat  3.    500  pounds  manure  and  sixteen  pounds  rock  phosphate  broadcast 

Plat  4.     500  pounds  manure  broadcast,  and  one-fourth  scoop-shovelful  ma- 
nure per  hill 

Plat  5.     1000  pounds  manure  broadcast 

Plat  6.     One-eighth  scoop-shovelful  manure  per  hill,  not  mixed  with  soil 

Plat  7.    One-fourth  scoop-shovelful  manure  per  hill,  not  mixed  with  soi! 

Plat  8.     One-fourth   scoop-shovelful   manure   per   hill,  thoroly   mixed   with 
soil 

Plat  9.     One-fourth  scoop-shovelful  manure  and  one-fourth  pound  steamed 
bone  per  hill,   thoroly  mixed   together 

Plat  10.  One- fourth    scoop'-shovelful    manure    and    one- fourth    pound    rock- 
phosphate  per  hill,  thoroly  mixed  together 

Plat  ii.  Twenty  pounds  complete  commercial   fertilizer  applied  broadcast, 
and  one-fourth  scoop-shovelful  manure  per  hill 

Plat  12.  Twenty   pounds   complete   commercial    fertilizer   and    fifty   pounds 
lime  broadcast,  and  one-fourth  scoop-shovelful  manure  per  hill 

Plat  13.  One-half  scoop'-shovelful  manure  per  hill,  not  mixed  with  soil 

Plat  14.  One-half    scoop-shovelful    manure    per    hill,    thoroly    mixed    with 

soil 

Plat  15.  Check.     No  fertilizer  or  manure 
Plat  16.  One-fourth  pound  steamed  bone  per  hill,  thoroly  mixed  with  soil 

Plat  17.  Five   ounces    complete    commercial    fertilizer   per   hill,   not   mixed 
with  soil 

Plat  18.  Five  ounces  complete  commercial  fertilizer  per  hill,  thoroly  mixed 
with  soil 

Plat  19.  Sixteen    pounds    steamed   bone   broadcast,    and    one-fourth    scoop- 
shovelful  manure  per  hill 

Plat  20.  Sixteen   pounds   rock  phosphate  broadcast,  and  one-fourth   scoop- 
shovelful  manure  per  hill. 


1912} 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


27 


The  complete  commercial  fertilizer  used  in  Plats  n,  12,  17 
and  1 8  consisted  of  two  parts  steamed  bone,  two  parts  dried 
blood,  and  one  part  potassium  sulfate.  The  ingredients  for  each 
plat  were  weighed  out  separately  and  thoroly  mixed  before  be- 
ing applied.  In  1905  forty  pounds  of  this  fertilizer  were  used 
per  plat,  instead  of  twenty  as  specified  in  the  above  outline.  The 
amount  was  reduced  because  of  the  detrimental  effect  of  the 
larger  quantity  when  applied  to  the  hills. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  case  of  all  the  commercial  fer- 
tilizers used,  the  same  amount  was  used  per  plat  whether  the  ma- 
terial was  applied  broadcast  or  in  the  hills,  since  one-fourth 
pound  per  hill  is  equivalent  to  sixteen  pounds  per  plat  of  sixty- 
four  hills,  and  likewise  five  ounces  per  hill  is  equivalent  to  twenty 
pounds  per  plat. 

At  the  distances  the  hills  were  planted  at  Anna  in  19/35,  there 
would  be  1936  hills  per  acre,  so  that  one-fourth  pound  of  fertili- 
zer per  hill  would  be  at  the  rate  of  484  pounds  per  acre.  In  the 
other  years  the  melons  were  planted  at  Anna  at  the  rate  of  2151 
hills  per  acre,  so  that  the  same  amount  of  fertilizer  per  hill  would 
be  at  the  rate  of  537-75  pounds  per  acre.  At  Kinmundy  there 
were  2560  hills  per  acre,  so  that  one-fourth  pound  of  fertilizer  to 
the  hill  would  be  at  the  rate  of  640  pounds  per  acre. 

In  all  cases  the  manure  applied  to  the  hills  was  well  rotted  as 
a  result  of  having  been  ricked  up  several  months  previous  to  the 
time  of  its  application,  and  "turned"  a  sufficient  number  of  times 
to  insure  good  mechanical  condition.  However,  it  varied  con- 
siderably in  moisture  content  and  amount  of  litter  in  the  different 
years,  so  that  the  quantity  by  weight  used  per  hill  was  never 
twice  alike  for  the  same  treatment.  The  extent  of  this  variation 
is  well  illustrated  in  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  weight 
of  the  manure  used  each  year  in  plats  where  one- fourth  scoop- 
shovelful  per  hill  was  specified. 

TABI.E  l. — WEIGHT  OK  MANURE  USED  IN  HIIJ.S 


1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Average 

Anna 
per  hill 
per  plat 
per  acre 

6.881b. 
440.321b. 
6.67  tons 

S.OOlb. 
320.001b. 
5.38  tons 

3.751b. 
240.001b. 
4.03  tons 

3.  00  Ib. 
192.001b. 
3.  22  tons 

3.2Slb. 
208.001b. 
3.  50  tons 

4.371b. 
280.00  Ib. 
4.56  tons 

Kinmundy 
per  hill 
per  plat 
per  acre 

3.47  Ib. 
221.441b. 
4.44  tons 

3.371b. 
216.00  Ib. 
4.32  tons 

6.251b. 
400.001b. 
8.00  tons 

4.501b. 
238.001b. 
5.76  tons 

6.001b. 
3S4.001b. 
7.  68  tons 

4.721b. 
302001b. 
6.04  tons 

28  BULLETIN   No.   155  [April, 

For  the  broadcast  applications  fresh  manure  \vas  used  at  Kin- 
mundy  in  1905  and  1906,  but  for  all  the  other  broadcast  appli- 
cations of  manure  the  same  kind  of  manure  was  used  as  in  the 
hills,  namely,  well-rotted  horse  or  mule  manure  that  had  been 
hauled  from  the  city  stables  or  shipped  in  from  St.  Louis. 

Except  at  Anna  in  1907  the  broadcast  applications  of  manure 
were  made  before  the  land  was  plowed.  That  year  the  manure 
was  spread  on  the  plowed  ground  and  disked  in.  The  steamed 
bone  and  rock  phosphate  broadcasted  on  Plats  2  and  3  were 
scattered  over  the  manure  after  it  had  been  spread  on  the  land. 

The  fertilizers  applied  broadcast  to  Plats  n,  12,  19  and  20 
were  scattered  by  hand  after  the  land  had  been  plowed  and 
disked.  These  applications  were  usually  made  immediately  be- 
fore the  final  fitting  of  the  land  for  planting,  and  at  Anna  the 
applications  were  usually  not  made  until  after  the  land  had  been 
furrowed  out  for  planting.  In  this  case  the  'fertilizers  were 
mixed  with  the  soil  by  means  of  a  cultivator  instead  of  a  harrow 
as  was  done  at  Kinmundy. 

In  the  application  of  manure  to  the  hills,  the  customary  method 
in  the  given  region  was  employed,  except  where  a  comparison  of 
methods  of  application  was  to  be  made.  At  Anna  the  common 
practice  of  commercial  growers  is  to  mix  the  manure  thoroly 
with  the  soil  of  the  hill  by  means  of  a  cultivator  or  a  hoe;  while 
at  Kinmundy  it  is  customary  to  place  the  manure  in  the  furrow 
and  cover  it  with  fine  soil  without  mixing.  Therefore  at  Anna 
the  manure  applied  to  the  hills  was  mixed  with  the  soil  except 
in  plats  specified  to  the  contrary;  while  at  Kinmundy  the  oppo- 
site method  was  employed  except  where  specified. 

In  using  manure  in  the  hills  in  conjunction  with  any  form 
of  commercial  fertilizer,  applied  either  broadcast  or  in  the  hills, 
one-fourth  scoop-shovelful  of  manure  per  hill  has  been  the  quan- 
tity employed,  since  this  is  a  normal  amount  used  by  commercial 
growers,  tho  there  are  wide  differences  in  the  practice  of  differ- 
ent growers.  When  manure  and  commercial  fertilizer  of  any 
kind  were  both  applied  to  the  hills,  they  were  mixed  thoroly  to- 
gether whether  they  were  to  be  mixed  with  the.  soil  or  not.  They 
\vere  mixed  with  the  soil  at  Anna,  but  not  at  Kinmundy.  In 
Plats  1 6  and  18  at  Anna,  and  also  at  Kinmundy  in  1905,  the 
fertilizers  were  mixed  with  the  soil  thruout  the  hill,  while  at  Kin- 
mundy the  other  years  the  fertilizer  was  mixed  with  soil  in  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow,  and  then  covered  two  or  three  inches  deep 
with  pure  soil  in  which  to  plant  the  seeds. 


19I2\  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 

PLANTING  AND  CARE  OF  THE  CROP* 

In  both  localities  the  methods  of  culture  typical  of  the  respec- 
tive regions  were  employed.  At  Anna  the  transplanting  method 
was  used ;  while  at  Kinmundy  the  seed  was  planted  directly  in  the 
field.  This  difference  in  cultural  methods  will  account  for  some 
of  the  differences  in  results  at  the  two  places,  since  at  Anna  the 
plants  were  grown  for  the  first  month  under  uniform  conditions, 
and  did  not  come  under  the  influence  of  the  different  fertilizer 
treatments  until  they  were  transplanted  to  the  field,  while  at  Kin- 
mundy the  plants  were  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  different 
fertilizers  from  the  very  beginning. 

In  caring  for  the  growing  crop  the  methods  employed  were 
those  practiced  by  the  most  careful  growers  in  the  respective 
regions;  and  in  addition,  tillage  was  usually  continued  later  than 
is  practiced  by  most  growers,  and  also  spraying  was  resorted  to 
during  the  last  three  years  for  the  sake  of  controlling  the  rust. 

INFLUENCE  OF  FERTILIZER  UPON  STAND  OF  PLANTS 

Since  the  melons  at  Anna  were  started  in  a  hotbed  under 
uniform  conditions,  the  different  fertilizer  treatments  in  the  field 
could  have  no  influence  upon  the  germination  of  the  seed  and  the 
stand  of  young  seedlings.  However,  at  Kinmundy,  where  the 
seed  was  planted  directly  in  the  field,  there  were  often  marked 
differences  in  the  stand  of  plants  in  different  plats,  and  at  least 
part  of  these  differences  seemed  attributable  to  the  differences  in 
fertilizer  treatment.  Table  2  gives  the  number  of  live  hills  in 
each  plat  at  Kinmundy,  based  on  counts  made  within  a  few  weeks 
after  the  plants  were  up.  It  is  true  that  there  was  sometimes  a 
loss  of  a  few  hills  by  reason  of  attacks  of  striped  beetles  before 
the  count  was  made,  but  it  is  also  true  that  in  the  plats  showing 
the  poorest  stands  many  hills  were  missing  from  the  very  start, 
so  that,  in  a  general  way  at  least,  the  figures  given  are  a  true 
index  to  the  influence  of  the  different  fertilizer  treatments  upon 
the  stand  of  plants.  In  1907  the  original  planting  made  May  23 
suffered  so  severely  from  cold,  wet  weather  that  none  of  the 
plats  gave  a  satisfactory  stand,  and  the  entire  plantation  was 
hoed  up  and  replanted  June  15.  The  figures  for  the  first  planting 
in  1907  are  not  included  in  the  averages  for  the  five  years. 


*General   information    regarding  the   planting  and   care  of  muskmelons   is 
contained  in  Circular  139  of  the  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


30 


BULLETIN   No.    155 


[A^ril, 


TABLE  2.— STAND  OF  PLANTS:  NUMBER  OK  L,IVE  HILLS  IN  BACH 
PLAT,  KINMUNDY 


1905 

1906 

(1907) 

1907 

1908 

1909 

i«r- 

aee 

•4-> 

rt 

Date  planted 

May 
19 

May 

May 
23 

June 
15 

May 

29 

May 

20 

fc 

Date  counted 

June 

8 

June 
30 

June 
14 

July 
29 

June 
15 

June 
21 

1 

61 

54 

(29) 

56 

53 

64 

57  6 

2 
3 
4 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  broadcast 
Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast 
Manure  broadcast  and  in  hills  

62 
59 
59 

61 
59 
60 

(24) 
(20) 
(27) 

56 
64 
61 

52 
55 
61 

63 
61 
64 

58.8 
59.6 
61  0 

5 
ft 

Manure  broadcast  (double  amount)  .  . 
/4  shovel  manure  in  hills  

58 

61 

57 

(10) 
(14) 

54 
61 

60 
61 

64 

64 

59.4 
60  7 

7 

Q 

14  shovel  manure  in  hills,  not  mixed.  . 
%  shovel  manure  in  hills,  mixed  

61 
59 

60 
58 

(19) 
(26) 

55 
56 

63 
61 

64 
63 

60.6 
59  4 

9 
10 
11 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  in  hills.  .  .  . 
Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills  .  . 
Manure  in  hills,  complete  fertilizer 
broadcast  

46 
60 

57 

48 

55 

53 

(39) 
(24) 

(24) 

54 
54 

60 

61 
59 

64 

64 
64 

64 

54.6 
58.4 

59  6 

12 

Manure  in  hills,  complete  fertilizer 
and  lime  broadcast  

53 

54 

(33) 

59 

46 

64 

55.2 

13 

14 

Yz  shovel  manure  in  hills,  not  mixed.  . 
%  shovel  manure  in  hills,  mixed  

49 

57 

48 
53 

(43) 
(38) 

56 
61 

58 
59 

64 
64 

55.0 
58  8 

IS 

Check.     No  fertilizer  or  manure  

54 

46 

(30 

64 

54 

64 

56  4 

16 

Steamed  bone  in  hills  

48 

36 

(16) 

63 

38 

64 

49  8 

17 
18 
19 

Complete  fertilizer  in  hills,  not  mixed 
Complete  fertilizer  in  hills,  mixed.  .  .  . 
Manure  in  hills,  steamed  bone  broad- 
cast    

36 
8 

58 

35 
24 

49 

(28) 
(34) 

53 
44 

36 
39 

64 
63 

63 

44.8 
35.6 

20 

Manure     in    hills,    rock    phosphate 
broadcast  

55 

56 

64 

The  most  striking  features  about  this  table  are  the  relatively 
poor  stands  recorded  for'  Plats  17  and  18.  With  the  exception  of 
one  year  (1909)  the  stands  in  these  two  plats  were  very  poor. 
Three  seasons  the  stand  in  Plat  16  was  also  poor,  and  two  seas- 
ons in  Plat  9.  These  observations  indicate  that  the  complete 
commercial  fertilizer  (a  mixture  of  steamed  bone,  dried  blood 
and  potassium  snlfate)  applied  to  the  hills  in  the  quantities  em- 
ployed, 'usually  interferes  with  the  proper  germination  of  the 
seed  and  development  of  the  young  plants.  The  most  marked  ef- 
fect of  all  appeared  in  Plat  18  in  1905,  when  a  large  amount  of 
the  fertilizer  was  used,  and  the  seed  was  planted  directly  in  the 
mixture  of  fertilizer  and  soil  instead  of  being  placed  in  a  layer 
of  pure  soil  above  the  mixture  of  soil  and  fertilizer.  This  indi- 
cates that  fertilizer  of  this  kind  applied  in  quantity  to  the  hills, 
is  too  strong  for  the  young  seedlings  and  is  likely  to  kill  them 
before  they  appear  above  ground.  The  same  quantity  of  the 
fertilizer  per  plat  applied  broadcast  had  no  such  detrimental  ef- 
fect. The  apparent  exception  to  this  statement,  in  the  case  of 
Plat  12  in  1908,  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  striped 


1912} 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


31 


beetles  had  made  a  severe  attack  on  this  plat  and  destroyed  an 
unusual  number  of  hills  before  the  count  was  made.  The  influ- 
ence of  steamed  bone  in  the  hills  should  also  not  be  passed  with- 
out notice.  This  material  seems  to  act  differently  under  different 
seasonal  conditions,  but  the  figures  given  indicate  that  it  is  a 
rather  unsafe  material  to  use  alone  in  the  hills  and  may  have  an 
unfavorable  influence  on  germination  even  when  used  in  com- 
bination with  manure  in  the  hills ;  tho  it  is  probable  that  if  the 
mixture  of  manure  and  steamed  bone  in  Plat  9  in  1905  and  1906 
had  been  more  deeply  covered  with  soil  than  was  the  case,  the 
unfavorable  effect  upon  germination  might  have  been  eliminated. 
The  poor  stands  in  Plat  13  in  1905  and  1906  were  plainly 
attributable  to  the  fact  that  the  furrows  were  not  made  deep 
enough  for  the  proper  application  of  such  large  quantities  of 
manure.  When  the  precaution  was  taken  to  cover  the  manure 
more  deeply,  as  in  the  three  succeeding  years,  better  stands  were 
secured. 


INFLUENCE  OF  FERTILIZER  UPON  VIGOR  OF  VINE 

Not  only  were  there  differences   in  the  stand  of  plants,  but 
also  marked  differences  in  the  rapidity    of    growth    and  general 


FIG.  l.  INFLUENCE  OK  MANURE  ON  EARLY  GROWTH  OP  MELON  PLANTS. 
PLAT  14  (HEAVILY  MANURED  IN  HILLS)  AT  LEFT;  PLAT  15  (No  FER- 
TILIZER OR  MANURE)  AT  RIGHT  KIXMUNDY,  JUNE  30,  1906. 


32  BULLETIN    No.    155  [April, 

vigor  of  the  young  plants,  evidently  due  to  differences  in  fertili- 
zer treatment.  Each  year  notes  were  taken  in  reference  to  the 
relative  size  and  general  vigor  "of  the  plants  in  the  various  plats 
at  Kinmundy  about  a  month  after  the  seed  was  planted,  and 
again  about  the  time  the  fruit  was  setting.  Three  years  addi- 
tional notes  were  taken  shortly  before  the  beginning  of  the  pick- 
ing season.  The  accompanying  tabular  statement  gives  in  con- 
densed form  an  idea  of  the  relative  size  and  vigor  of  the  plants 
in  the  different  plats  at  Kinmundy  at  the  dates  mentioned. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  column  at  the  left  under 
each  year,  that  there  were  usually  marked  differences  in  the  early 
growth  of  the  young  plants.  Reference  to  the  other  columns 
shows  that  these  initial  differences  were  often  maintained  until 
the  beginning  of  the  picking  season.  This  indicates  that  there 
was  a  fairly  close  relation  between  the  character  of  the  plants 
early  in  the  season  and  their  condition  when  setting  fruit  and 
maturing  the  crop,  and  emphasizes  the  importance  of  a  vigorous 
start.  It  is  true  that  modifying  influences  sometimes  arose  which 
entirely  changed  the  relative  vigor  of  the  plants  in  certain  plats, 
as  the  season  advanced.  This  was  the  case  in  Plat  16  in  1905 
and  1907.  Altho  the  plants  were  vigorous  and  apparently  healthy 
at  the  start,  the  leaves  later  turned  brown  at  the  edges  and  as- 
sumed a  sickly  appearance.  This  damage  was  plainly  due  to  the 
unfavorable  influence  of  the  fertilizer,  which  did  not  become  evi- 
dent until  after  the  plants  had  made  a  good  start.  The  poor 
showing  of  the  same  plat  in  1906  was  due  to  the  same  cause. 
The  edges  of  the  leaves  turned  brown  also  in  1908,  but  the  in- 
jury was  not  severe  enough  to  seriously  affect  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  plants.  This  same  "browning"  of  the  leaves  was 
usually  much  worse  in  Plats  17  and  18  than  in  Plat  16,  and 
caused  these  plats  to  be  .usually  rated  as  "poor"  or  "very  poor." 
The  fertilizer  in  these  two  plats  not  only  interfered  with  the 
proper  germination  of  the  seed,  but  most  years  seriously  impaired 
the  vigor  of  the  plants,  and  caused  many  of  them  to  die  without 
producing  any  fruit. 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


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34 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


[April, 


FIG.  2.    GROWTH  OF  MELON  VINES  TREATED  WITH  MANURE.    PLAT  5, 
KINMUNDY,  1906:  (A)  JUNE  30,  (B)  JULY  27,  (C)  AUGUST  23. 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


35 


FIG.  3.  GROWTH  OF  MELON  VINES  TREATED  WITH  A  COMPLETE 
COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZER.  PLATS  17  (AT  LEFT)  AND  18  (AT 
RIGHT),  KINMUNDY,  1906:  (A)  JUNE  30,  (B)  JULY  27,  (C)  AUGUST  23. 


36  BULLETIN   No.   155  [April, 

There  were  some  differences  in  the  relative  vigor  of  plants 
under  the  same  treatment  in  different  years;  but  these  were  evi- 
dently due  in  many  cases  to  minor  variations  in  soil  and  to  differ- 
ences in  seasonal  conditions.  Thus,  Plat  12  in  1905  was  in  a 
slight  depression  and  was  badly  washed.  In  1906  there  was  a 
severe  drought  immediately  following  planting,  which  seriously 
interfered  with  the  proper  starting  of  the  plants  in  many  of  the 
plats.  In  spite  of  these  variations,  there  were  certain  plats  in 
which  the  vines  made  a  relatively  good  showing  every  year.  The 
most  pronounced  in  this  respect  were  Plats  4,  7,  8  and  10.  In 
all  these  plats  a  moderate  amount  of  manure  was  used  in  the 
hills. 

The  last  three  years  the  conditions  were  exceptionally  favor- 
able for  the  growth  of  melon  vines  and  a  larger  number  of  plats 
showed  vigorous  growth  of  vine.  Plats  6,  9,  u,  12,  13  and  14 
in  addition  to  those  already  named,  are  worthy  of  mention  in 
this  connection.  Plats  9,  n  and  14  also  did  well' in  1905.  The 
poor  showing  of  Plat  12  that  year  was  due  to  washing,  and  of 
13  evidently  to  too  close  contact  of  the  plant  roots  with  large 
quantities  of  manure.  In  the  dry  season  of  1906  Plat  5  made 
an  especially  favorable  showing. 

At  Anna  notes  were  taken  regarding  the  condition  of  the 
vines  about  a  month  after  they  were  set  in  the  field.  The  plants 
were  then  in  about  the  same  stage  of  development  as  those  at 
Kinmundy  when  the  second  set  of  notes  was  taken.  The  last  two 
years  wotes  were  also  taken  at  the  beginning  of  the  picking 
season.  The  data  are  given  in  condensed  form  in  the  accompany- 
ing tabular  statement. 

It  will  be  observed  that  only  part  of  the  fertilizer  treatments 
were  included  in  the  experiments  at  Anna  in  1905  and  1906.  Of 
the  treatments  employed  thru  the  entire  five  years,  Plat  9  showed 
the  most  uniformly  vigorous  vines.  Plats  7  and  8  made  an  ex- 
ceptionally good  showing  except  the  first  year.  Plat  10  had  the 
disadvantage  of  being  too  close  to  a  strip  of  timber  in  1906,  and 
of  being  stunted  by  a  severe  attack  of  lice  in  1907.  In  1906  Plats 
12  and  20  were  on  a  "clay  point"  where  they  were  badly  washed. 
In  1907  the  entire  plantation  suffered  severely  from  beetles  after 
the  plants  were  set  in  the  field,  and  many  of  the  plants  had  not 
overcome  the  effects  of  this  attack  when  the  notes  were  taken. 
This  accounts  for  the  relatively  poor  showing  of  some  of  the 
plats  in  1907  as  compared  with  other  years.  Plat  6  made  a  very 
good  showing  the  three  years  it  was  in  the  test. 


1912} 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH   MUSKMELONS 


37 


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38  BULLETIN   No.    155  [April, 

The  most  striking  difference  in  the  effects  of  the  fertilizers 
at  Anna  as  compared  with  the  results  at  Kinmundy,  was  observed 
in  Plats  1 6,  17  and  18.  Except  in  Plat  18  the  first  year,  the  plants 
in  these  plats  at  Anna  did  not  show  the  unfavorable  effect  of  the 
fertilizers  by  browning  of  the  edges  of  the  leaves,  as  was  the 
case  at  Kinmundy.  The  fertilizers  used  in  these  plats  are  evi- 
dently less  likely  to  cause  injury  to  transplanted  plants,  which 
have  grown  for  a  month  before  coming  under  the  influence  of 
the  fertilizer,  than  to  plants  grown  from  seeds  planted  directly 
in  the  hills  containing  the  fertilizer. 

INFLUENCE  OF  FERTILIZER  UPON  EARLINESS 
AND  YIELD 

Interesting  and  important  as  is  the  influence  of  different  fer- 
tilizer treatments  upon  the  vegetative  growth  of  the  melon  plant, 
the  real  test  of  efficiency  of  a  given  fertilizer  treatment  is  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  earliness  of  ripening,  and  yield  of  marketable 
melons. 

In  the  experimental  work  at  both  Anna  and  Kinmundy  the 
melons  were  picked  at  the  stage  of  maturity  most  desirable  for 
the  market.*  The  plantation  was  gone  over  almost  every  day, 
and  sometimes  even  twice  a  day  at  the  height  of  the  season.  The 
product  of  each  plat  at  each  picking  was  graded  into  "market- 
able melons"  and  "culls,"  and,  except  at  Anna  in  1905,  the  mark- 
etable melons  were  further  divided  into  "No.  I's"  and  "No.  2's." 
The  standard  of  grading  employed  was  that  described  in  Bulle- 
tin 124  of  the  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  (pp. 
302-306).  All  melons  corresponding  to  the  description  of 
"fancy"  and  "No.  i"  stock  as  therein  set  forth  were  entered  in 
the  yield  records  as  "No.  i,"  and  the  rest  of  the  marketable  mel- 
ons as  "No.  2."  The  number  of  specimens  of  each  grade  was  re- 
corded, and  also  the  total  weight  of  the  melons  of  each  grade. 
A  record  was  also  kept  of  the  selling  price  of  melons  each  day 
during  the  shipping  season,  In  making  up  the  yield  records 
from  the  daily  picking  records,  a  division  wa?  made  between 
early  and  late  melons.  Under  normal  market  conditions  prices 
are  highest  during  the  early  part  of  the  shipping  season  from  a 
given  point.  This  period  of  relatively  high  prices  may  continue 
for  a  few  days  or  for  over  two  weeks,  depending  upon  the  rapid- 
ity of  ripening  of  the  melons  in  the  locality.  As  soon  as  the 
volume  of  shipments  from  a  given  locality  becomes  large, 
prices  usually  drop  quite  suddenly,  unless  there  is  a  scarcity 

*See  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  124,  pp.  208-302. 


39 


of  melons  from  other  sources.  In  the  records  of  these  experi- 
ments the  division  between  early  and  late  melons  was  made 
at  the  time  prices  dropped.  In  the  few  instances  when  there  was 
no  marked  change  in  price  during  the  season,  owing  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  supply  from  other  regions,  the  division  was  made 
when  the  volume  of  the  pickings  began  to  increase  rapidly,  and 
when,  under  normal  market  conditions,  the  price  would  have 
dropped.  The  following  table  gives  the  dates  of  the  first  and  last 
picking  of  early  melons,  and  the  close  of  the  season  for  shipping 
melons  from  the  experimental  plantations  each  year,  together 
with  a  statement  of  the  length  of  the  period  during  which  "early 
melons"  were  picked  and  the  duration  of  the  entire  shipping 
season. 


TABI.E  3.—  DATA  REGARDING  LENGTH  OP  PICKING  SEASON  OK 
AND  LATE  MELONS 


ANNA 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Date  of  first  picking  

July  12 
July  20 
9 
Aug.    7 

27 

July  12 
July  20 
9 
Aug.  3 

23 

July  27 
Aug.  10 
15 
Sept.  9 
45 

July  15 
Aug.    1 
18 
Aug.  17 
34 

July  12 
July  25 
14 
Aug.  13 
33 

No.  days  picking  early  melons   .    .  . 
Close  of  shipping  season  

Length  of  shipping  season  (days)  .  .  . 

KlNMUNDY 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Date  of  first  picking  

Aug.  10 
Aug.  19 
10 
Sept.  4 
26 

Aug.    3 
Aug.  18 
16 
Sept.10 
39 

Aug.  27 
Sept.  14 
19 
Oct.  4 
39 

Aug.  17 
Aug.  29 
13 
Sept.  17 

32 

Aug.  9 
Aug.  13 
5 
Aug.  26 
18 

Last  of  early  melons  

No.  days  picking  early  melons  

Close  of  shipping  season  

Length  of  shipping  season    days)  .  . 

RELATIVE  TIME  OF  RIPENING  OF  EARLIEST  MELONS 

The  influence  of  the  fertilizer  upon  the  time  of  ripening  of 
the  first  fruits  was  more  marked  in  the  field-planted  crop  (at  Kin- 
mundy)  than  in  the  transplanted  crop  (at  Anna).  The  num- 
ber of  days  from  the  planting  of  the  seed  until  the  first  ripe 
melon  was  picked  from  each  plat  each  year  at  Kinmundy,  is  given 
in  Table  4,  together  with  the  averages  for  the  five  years. 

The  most  striking  feature  shown  by  this  table  is  the  marked 
delay  in  the  maturity  of  the  melons  on  the  untreated  or  check  plat 
and  on  the  plats  treated  with  a  complete  commercial  fertilizer  with- 
out manure,  as  compared  with  the  manured  plats,  especially  those 
receiving  manure  in  the  hills. 


40 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


[April, 


TABLE  4.— NUMBER  OF  DAYS  FROM  PLANTING  OF  SEED  TO  PICKING  OF  FIRST 
RIPE  MELON,  KINMUNDY 


1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

•4-1 

rt 

Date  of  planting 

May 
19 

May 

5 

June 
15 

May 

29 

May 
20 

Treatment 

Manure  broadcast  

87 

qq 

79 

oq 

82 

87   7 

•y 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  broadcast  

87 

92 

79 

91 

82 

Of.    ? 

3 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast  
Manure  broadcast  and  in  hills  

85 

QC 

96 
94 

76 
7fi 

91 

85 

82 

8? 

86 

04.  4. 

e 

Manure  broadcast  (double  amount)  

85 

94 

79 

89 

82 

85  8 

£ 

Ms  shovel  manure  in  hills  

92 

79 

85 

81 

7 

/^  shovel  manure  in  hills,  not  mixed  

85 

94 

79 

83 

82 

84  6 

0 

%  shovel  manure  in  hills,  mixed  

85 

94 

76 

85 

82 

84  4 

o 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  in  hills  

87 

93 

76 

85 

82 

84  6 

10 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills  

85 

96 

76 

80 

82 

83  8 

11 

12 

Manure  in  hills,  complete  fertilizer  broadcast 
Manure  in   hills,  complete  fertilizer  and 
lime  broadcast     

83 
85 

95 
93 

73 

73 

80 
85 

82 
82 

82.6 
83  6 

1  \ 

J^  shovel  manure  in  hills   not  mixed  •  •  • 

85 

94 

79 

85 

82 

85 

^s  shovel  manure  in  hills,  mixed   

85 

93 

73 

80 

82 

82  6 

15 

Check.     No  fertilizer  or  manure   

94 

104 

80 

94 

86 

91  6 

16 

85 

103 

76 

87 

82 

86.6 

17 

Complete  fertilizer  in  hills,  not  mixed  

98 

114 

86 

92 

84 

94  8 

1  9 

Complete  fertilizer  in  hills,  mixed  

104 

83 

92 

84 

19 
20 

Manure  in  hills,  steamed  bone  broadcast.  .  . 
Manure  in  hills,  rock  phosphate  broadcast.  . 

85 

87 

94 
95 

82 
82 

YIELDS  OF  EARLY  MELONS 

The  actual  date  of  ripening  of  the  earliest  melon  from  a  given 
plat  is  of  less  importance  in  determining  the  value  of  a  given  fer- 
tilizer treatment  than  is  the  quantity  of  melons  matured  during 
the  normal  season  of  high  prices.  Therefore,  in  considering  the 
different  fertilizer  treatments  in  reference  to  their  influence  upon 
the  earliness  of  the  crop,  the  number  of  pounds  of  marketable 
melons  which  ripened  before  the  normal  drop  in  prices,  has  been 
used  as  the  main  basis  of  comparison.  Owing  to  the  difference 
in  stand  in  the  different  plats,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  reduce 
the  yields  to  terms  of  pounds  per  hill  for  the  sake  of  convenience 
in  making  comparisons.  The  number  of  hills  participating  in  the 
yields  of  early  melons  in  the  different  plats  is  given  in  Table  5. 
In  1905  a  number  of  hills  were  replanted  at  Kinmundy  three 
weeks  after  the  original  planting  was  made,  and  these  replanted 
hills  are  not  included  in  the  count  for  early  melons.  Also  in 
1906  many  hills  at  Kinmundy  did  not  come  up  until  after  the 
rains  in  June  (altho  the  seed  was  planted  May  5),  and  these 
are  not  included  in  the  counts,  since  they  did  not  participate  in 
the  yield  of  early  melons.  All  hills  alive  at  the  time  the  counts 
were  made  are  considered  as  participating  in  the  yields,  even 
tho  a  few  hills  died  from  various  causes  before  ripening  their 
fruit. 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH   MUSKMELONS 


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42 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


[April, 


The  yields  of  early  melons  in  pounds  per  hill  are  given  in  Table 
6.      Only  the  "marketable"  melons  are  considered. 


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FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


43 


This  table  indicates  that,  in  the  crop  grown  by  the  transplant- 
ing method  (at  Anna),  the  highest  average  yield  of  early  mel- 
ons from  treatments  applied  the  last  three  years  was  secured 
from  Plat  14,  and  the  second  highest  from  Plat  13,  both  heavily 
manured  in  the  hill.  The  third  highest  average  yield  for  the 
three  years  was  from  Plat  n,  manured  in  the  hill  and  fertilized 
broadcast.  Of  the  plats  at  Anna  which  were  maintained  thru 
the  five  years,  Plat  9,  treated  with  manure  and  steamed  bone  in 
the  hill,  gave  the  highest  average  yield  of  early  melons,  while 
Plat  II  gave  the  second  highest,  and  Plat  7,  manured  in  the  hill, 
gave  the  third  highest.  In  the  field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy) 
the  highest  average  yield  of  early  melons  for  the  five  years  was  from 
Plat  10;  the  second  highest  average  yield  from  Plat  4,  which  was 
treated  with  manure  both  broadcast  and  in  the  hill;  and  the  third 
highest  average  yield  from  Plat  14,  heavily  manured  in  the  hill. 
However,  the  marked  superiority  of  Plat  10  as  shown  in  the  five- 
year  average  is  due  to  the  exceptionally  large  yield  from  this 
plat  in  1905.  If  the  average  for  the  last  four  years  instead  of  the 
five  is  considered,  Plats  13  and  14,  both  heavily  manured  in  the 
hill,  are  first  and  second  respectively,  with  Plat  4  occupying  third 
place  in  reference  to  yields  of  early  melons. 

TOTAL  YIELDS  OF  MARKETABLE  MELONS 

While  it  is  important  to  secure  as  large  a  yield  of  early  mel- 
ons as  possible,  the  proportion  of  the  crop  w7hich  ripens  during 
the  normal  season  of  high  prices  is  likely  to  be  relatively  small, 
so  that  the  value  of  the  crop  may  depend  as  much  upon  the  total 
yield  of  marketable  melons  as  upon  the  yield  of  early  melons. 
Therefore  the  influence  of  the  different  fertilizer  treatments  upon 
the  total  yield  of  melons  is  an  important  factor  to  be  considered 
in  determining  the  relative  values  of  the  various  treatments.  For 
ease  of  comparison  the  yields  are  given  in  terms  of  pounds  per 
hill.  The  number  of  hills  participating  in  the  yields  were  the 
same  as  for  early  melons,  except  at  Kinmundy  in  1905  and  1906, 
when  certain  belated  hills,  as  already  noted,  were  not  considered 
in  the  yield  of  early  melons.  The  total  number  of  hills  in  the 
various  plats  at  Kinmundy  in  1905  and  1906  which  participated 
in  the  total  yields  are  given  in  Table  7. 

TABLE  7. — NUMBER  OK  HILLS  PARTICIPATING  IN  TOTAL  YIELDS  AT 
KINMUNDY,  1905  AND  1906 


Plat 

1905 

1906 

Plat 

1905 

1906 

Plat 

1905 

1906 

Plat 

1905 

1906 

1 

61 

46 

6 

44 

11 

59 

40 

16 

62 

35 

2 

63 

52 

7 

63 

52 

12 

54 

44 

17 

32 

30 

3 

59 

52 

8 

62 

46 

13 

48 

43 

18 

28 

9 

4 

61 

52 

9 

56 

41 

14 

62 

45 

19 

59 

40 

S 

62 

51 

10 

61 

47 

IS 

57 

44 

20 

61 

39 

44 


BULLETIN    No.    155 


[Afril, 


The   total   yields   of   marketable   melons   produced    under   the 
different  fertilizer  treatments  each  year  are  given  in  Table  8. 


o 

s<s>s«ssss««lg|sa 


/p/.?]  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS  45 

This  table  shows  that  in  the  transplanted  crop  (at  Anna) 
Plat  5,  heavily  manured  broadcast,  gave  slightly  the  largest  aver- 
age total  yield  of  marketable  melons  for  the  three  years;  while 
Plat  4,  manured  broadcast  and  in  the  hill,  gave  the  second  largest 
yield;  and  Plat  14,  heavily  manured  in  the  hill,  gave  the  third 
largest  yield.  For  the  five-year  average  at  Anna  (applicable  only 
to  plats  that  were  maintained  the  five  years)  the  first,  second  and 
third  average  yields  were  from  Plats  7,  12,  and  n  respectively. 
In  the  field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy)  the  highest  average  total 
yield  of  marketable  melons  for  the  five  years  was  secured  from 
Plat  4,  manured  broadcast  and  in  the  hill;  the  second  highest 
average  yield  from  Plat  10,  which  was  treated  with  manure  and 
rock  phosphate  in  the  hill;  and  the  third  highest  average  yield 
(practically  the  same  as  the  second)  from  Plat  II,  which  was 
manured  in  the  hill  and  fertilized  broadcast.  If  the  averages 
for  the  last  four  years  instead  of  five  are  considered,  Plat  4  still 
shows  the  highest  yield,  with  Plats  7  and  9  second  and  third  re- 
spectively. 

YIELDS  COMPUTED  TO  THE  ACRE  BASIS 

While  a  comparison  of  yields  in  terms  of  pounds  per  hill  is 
the  more  accurate  from  an  experimental  standpoint,  yields  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  baskets  per  acre  mean  more  to  the  melon 
grower.  Furthermore,  since  the  stand  of  plants  was  not  equal 
in  the  various  plats,  and  since  in  some  cases  at  least  the  stand 
was  influenced  by  the  fertilizer  treatment,  a  comparison  of  the 
actual  yields  from  equal  areas  planted  will  be  of  interest.  Since 
the  plat's  were  not  of  the  same  size  at  Anna  and  Kinmundy,  all 
yields  have  been  calculated  to  the  acre  basis.  This  was  done  by 
multiplying  the  yield  in  pounds  per  plat  by  the  number  of  plats 
in  an  acre,  and  dividing  the  product  by  the  number  of  pounds  of 
melons  in  a  basket.  The  basket  in  question  is  the  one-third  bushel 
climax  basket  commonly  used  for  shipping  melons  from  Illinois 
points.  The  net  weight  of  a  basket  of  melons  varies  according 
to  the  thickness  of  flesh  of  the  melons,  the  size  of  the  specimens, 
and  the  solidity  of  the  pack;  but  as  a  result  of  repeated  weigh- 
ings in  different  seasons,  sixteen  pounds  has  been  decided  upon 
as  the  approximate  average  net  weight  of  Gem  melons  per  basket, 
and  that  figure  has  been  used  in  calculating  all  the  yields  reported 
in  this  bulletin.  The  total  yields  of  marketable  melons,  in  terms  of 
baskets  per  acre,  are  given  in  Table  9. 


46 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


[April, 


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1912]  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS  47 

By  comparison  with  Table  8  it  will  be  seen  that,  in  spite  of 
the  differences  in  number  of  hills  per  plat,  the  average  yields  for 
the  leading  plats  stand  in  very  nearly  the  same  relation  to  one 
another  whether  compared  on  the  basis  of  baskets  per  acre  or 
pounds  per  hill. 


VALUE  OF  THE  CROP  FROM  DIFFERENT  FERTILIZER 

TREATMENTS 

The  value  of  a  crop  of  melons  is  determined  by  the  yield  and 
the  selling  price.  The  latter  is  influenced  chiefly  by  the  supply 
upon  the  market,  but  also  to  some  extent  by  the  quality  of  the 
offerings.  The  latter  influence  becomes  most  evident  in  cases 
where  an  individual  grower  or  an  association  packs  in  definite 
grades,  and  has  the  entire  product  handled  thru  one  or  a  few 
distributing  agents. 

Altho  the  price  fluctuates  more  or  less  from  day  to  day,  un- 
der normal  market  conditions,  as  already  noted,  prices  are  high- 
est at  the  beginning  of  the  shipping  season  covered  by  a  given 
producing  point.  However,  if  the  shipping  seasons  from  two 
distinct  producing  regions  overlap  more  than  usual,  the  price  re- 
ceived for  the  first  shipments  from  the  later  locality  may  be 
abnormally  low.  Furthermore,  if  there  is  a  distinct  shortage  of 
crop  in  an  important  melon  producing  region  that  normally  sup- 
plies the  market  late  in  the  season,  the  late  shipments  from  an 
earlier  locality  may  bring  fully  as  high  prices  as  the  early  ship- 
ments. Illustrations  of  both  these  conditions  occured  in  1908. 
The  California  crop  held  on  later  than  usual,  and  was  fully  sup- 
plying the  market  when  the  early  shipments  from  Anna  were  made. 
This  resulted  in  the  prices  of  early  melons  from  Anna  being  lower 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case ;  but  the  later  melons  from 
Anna  sold  at  the  same  average  price  as  the  early  ones,  because 
there  was  less  competition  on  the  market  at  the  time  they  were 
shipped.  The  same  year,  the  Rocky  Ford  crop  was  light,  and  the 
market  therefore  not  very  fully  supplied  at  the  time  the  late  ship- 
ments from  Kinmundy  wrere  made.  This  resulted  in  a  practically 
uniform  price  for  Kinmundy  melons  thruout  the  entire  shipping 
season  from  that  point. 

The  products  of  the  experimental  plats  were  marketed  in  Chi- 
cago along  with  the  regular  shipments  of  the  growers  on  whose 
farms  the  experiments  were  conducted.  Except  at  Anna  in  1905, 


48 


BUL/LETIN     NO.     155 


[April, 


the  two  grades  (No.  i  and  No.  2)  were  packed  separately,  and 
there  was  invariably  considerable  difference  in  price  between  the 
two  grades.  This  was  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  No.  i  stock 
was  sold  under  guaranty  as  to  quality. 

The  approximate  average  selling  prices  of  the  melons  of  each 
grade  from  each  place,  both  early  and  late,  are  given  in  Table  10. 
The  unusually  low  price  of  the  late  melons  from  Kinmundy  in 
1909  was  due  to  excessively  hot,  dry  weather  which  caused  the 
bulk  of  the  melons  to  ripen  within  a  few  days  at  a  time  when  the 
market  was  badly  congested  with  heavy  shipments  of  soft  melons 
from  a  number  of  points. 

TABLE  10.  — SEIZING  PRICE  ov  MELONS,  PER  BASKET 


• 

ANNA 

KINMUNDY 

Early 

Ivate 

Early 

L/ate 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

.No.  2 

No.l 

No.  2 

No.l 

No.  2 

1905  

$   .60 
.60 
.50 
.50 
.60 

$   .60 
.40 
.30 
.30 
.45 

$  .35 
.50 
.40 
.50 
.50 

$  .35 
.30 
.25 
.30 
.35 

$  .50 
.80 
.50 
.75 
.75 

$  .30 
.60 
.30 
.45 
.50 

$  .50 
.60 
.40 

.75 

.25 

$  .30 
.35 
.25 
.45 
.15 

1906                     

1907         

1908  

1909  

Average  

.57 

.41 

.45 

.31 

.66 

.43 

.50 

.30 

The  cost  of  marketing  the  melons  varied  somewhat  because  of 
changes  in  freight  rates  and  in  the  price  of  baskets.  The  cartage 
in  Chicago  was  invariably  two  cents  per  basket  and  the  commis- 
sion ten  percent  of  the  selling  price.  The  total  cost  per  basket  of 
marketing  the  melons,  including  cost  of  the  package,  freight,  cart- 
age and  commission,  was  as  given  in  Table  n. 

TABLE  11 COST  OF  MARKETING  MELONS,  PER  BASKET 


ANNA 

KINMUNDY 

Early 

L,ate 

Early 

L,ate 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

1905  

$  .17 
.16^ 
.18 
.17 
.19 

$  .17 

.16  2 
.15 
.17* 

!i7  2 

.17 

.18 

'.is4 

.15 

$  .16 

!is  2 
!is  2 

$.14 
.16^ 
.16 

$  .16 
'.17  2 

!i3  2 

$  .14 
.14 

!l2 

1906  

1907  

1908  

1909  

Except  for  the  commission,  the  cost  of  marketing  a  basket  of 
melons  shipped  under  the  same  conditions  regarding  freight  rates 


1912} 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


49 


is  the  same  whether  the  melons  sell  for  fifteen  or  seventy-five  cents. 
Therefore,  when  the  price  of  melons  is  low  a  large  part  of  the 
selling  price  is  consumed  in  paying  the  expenses  of  marketing. 
The  average  net  proceeds  per  basket  for  the  melons  shipped  from 
the  experimental  plats  the  different  seasons  were  as  follows : 

TABI.E  12 — NET  PRICES  OF  MELONS,  PER  BASKET 


ANNA 

KlNMUNDY 

Early 

L,ate 

Early 

Ivate 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  1 

No.  2 

1905  

$  .43 
.43^ 
.32 
.33 
.41 

$.43 
.25^ 
.14 
.15 

.27^ 

$.20^ 
.34^ 
.23 
.33 

.32 

$.20% 
.16^ 
.09^ 
.15 
.18K 

$  .34 
.61# 

.32 
.55^ 
.57 

$.16 
.43^ 
.14 
.28^ 
.34^ 

$.34 
.43^ 
.23 
.55^ 
.12 

$.16 

.21 
.09^ 
.28^ 
.03 

1906  

1907  

1908  

1909  

Average  . 

.385 

.25 

.286 

.16 

.48 

.272 

.336 

.156 

Based  upon  the  net  prices  given  in  Table  12,  the  net  proceeds 
per  acre  from  the  sale  of  melons  from  the  various  plats  would  be 
as  indicated  in  Table  13.  In  arriving  at  these  figures,  the  net 
proceeds  from  the  No.  I  early,  No.  2  early,  No.  I  late  and  No.  2 
late,  melons  were  calculated  separately  and  then  combined.  There- 
fore these  figures  represent  the  proceeds  per  acre  from  the  melons, 
handled  under  the  actual  market  conditions  existing  during  the 
various  seasons  the  experiments  were  in  progress. 

By  a  comparison  of  Table  13  with  Table  9  it  will  be  seen 
that  there  is  a  fairly  close  relation  between  the  net  proceeds  and  the 
total  yields,  tho  there  are  some  variations  due  to  differences  in  the 
proportions  of  early  and  late  melons,  and  No.  I  and  No.  2  stock. 

COST  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  FERTILIZER  TREATMENTS 

During  the  progress  of  the  experiments  the  prices  of  fertilizing 
materials  varied  to  some  extent,  and  the  cost  of  fertilizers  would 
necessarily  be  different  at  different  points,  due  to  differences  in 
freight  rates  and  in  quantities  purchased.  For  the  experimental 
work  here  reported  the  materials  \vere  purchased  in  small  quanti- 
ties, and  hence  the  transportation  rates  were  relatively  high.  A 
melon  growers'  association  would  ordinarily  purchase  fertilizing 
materials  in  carload  lots.  For  the  sake  of  uniformity,  the  fertiliz- 
ers have  been  rated  at  the  same  price  per  ton  thruout  the  series  of 
experiments,  that  price  being  approximately  what  the  materials 
would  have  cost  in  wholesale  quantities  delivered  on  track  in  the 
melon  producing  regions  of  Illinois. 

Except  at  Kinmundy  in  1905  and  1906,  the  manure  used  broad- 
cast as  well  as  that  used  in  the  hills  was  quite  thoroly  rotted,  and 


so 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


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igi2\  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS  51 

for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  the  manure  has  been  rated  at  the  same 
price  per  ton  thruout,  even  tho  rotted  manure  is  worth  more  than 
fresh  manure  from  the  standpoint  of  the  melon  grower.  At  Kin- 
mundy  the  manure  used  by  melon  growers  is  usually  hauled  from 
the  stables  in  town,  while  at  Anna  a  large  part  of  it  is  shipped  in 
from  St.  Louis.  The  price  at  which  the  manure  is  rated  in  re- 
porting these  experiments  is  based  upon  the  cost  under  the  condi- 
tions existing  at  Kinmundy,  and  refers  to  well-rotted  manure  that 
has  been  "turned"  two  or  three  times  and  made  ready  for  use  in 
melon  hills.  The  cost  at  other  points  might  be  considerably  dif- 
ferent. 

The  lime  used  on  Plat  12  was  usually  purchased  as  fresh  stone 
lime  and  allowed  to  become  air-slaked  before  being  used.  This 
made  the  lime  treatment  very  expensive,  but  seemed  to  be  the  only 
method  feasible  under  the  conditions  existing,  for  it  was  usually 
impossible  to  purchase  air-slaked  lime  when  wanted;  and  at  the 
time  the  experiments  were  begun  ground  limestone  was  not  avail- 
able at  the  points  where  the  experiments  were  conducted.  If 
ground  limestone  could  have  been  used  in  place  of  the  air-slaked 
lime,  the  expense  of  the  treatment  would  have  been  much  less  than 
was  actually  the  case.  When  lime  has  become  air-slaked  in  the 
possession  of  a  dealer,  it  is  sometimes  possible  to  purchase  it  at  a 
comparatively  reasonable  figure.  On  the  whole,  it  has  been  thought 
best  to  rate  the  air-slaked  lime  at  $2.00  per  ton  rather  than  what  it 
actually  cost  when  purchased  in  the  form  of  fresh  lime. 

As  already  mentioned,  equal  volumes  of  manure  per  hill  were 
used  in  the  same  plat  each  year,  tho  the  weight  of  the  manure 
varied  considerably  on  account  of  differences  in  consistency  and 
moisture  content.  The  average  weight  of  the  manure  per  hill  for 
the  five  years,  on  plats  where  one-fourth  scoop-shovelful  was  used 
per  hill,  was  4.37  pounds  at  Anna,  and  4.72  pounds  at  Kinmundy. 
This  is  at  the  rate  of  approximately  4.5  tons  per  acre  at  Anna,  and 
six  tons  per  acre  at  Kinmundy ;  and  these  figures  have  been  used  in 
calculating  the  expense  of  manuring  in  the  hills. 

Since,  with  the  exception  of  the  manure  in  the  hills,  the  same 
weight  of  fertilizing  material  was  applied  per  plat  at  both  Anna 
and  Kinmundy,  the  amounts  used  per  acre  were  considerably  dif- 
ferent on  account  of  the  difference  in  the  size  of  the  plats  at  the 
two  places.  Altho  the  melons  at  Anna  in  1905  were  planted 
slightly  farther  apart  than  in  the  other  years,  so  that  the  amount  of 
fertilizer  used  per  acre  was  slightly  less,  it  has  been  thought  best 
to  consider  the  expense  for  fertilizer  per  acre  the  same  for  each 
year.  Also  at  both  places  in  1905  twice  as  much  of  the  complete 
commercial  fertilizer  was  used  per  plat  as  in  the  succeeding  years ; 
but  since  the  amount  used  that  year  was  plainly  excessive  when 


52 


BULLETIN   No.   155 


[April, 


applied  in  the  hills,  the  expense  for  this  fertilizer  treatment  is  based 
upon  the  quantities  used  the  last  four  years  of  the  experiment. 

In  Table  14  are  given  the  prices  of  the  various  fertilizing  ma- 
terials per  ton,  the  quantities  used  per  acre  at  each  place,  and  the 
cost  of  the  material  for  an  acre. 

TABLE  14. — QUANTITIES  AND  COST  OF  FERTILIZER  INGREDIENTS  PER  ACRE 


Price 
per 
ton 

ANNA 

KlNMUNDY 

Quantity 

Cost 

Quantity 

Cost 

Manure  broadcast,  Plats  1  to  4.  . 
Manure  broadcast,  Plat  5  

$  1.50 
1.50 

1.50 

25.00 
7.50 

25.00 
4S.OO 
50.00 
2.00 

8.4    tons 
16.8       " 

2.25     •' 
4.5       " 

9.0       " 
537.75  Ib. 
537.75 
672.20 
268.88 
268.88 
134.44 
1680.5 

$12.60 
25.20 

3.38 
6.75 

13.50 
6.72 
2.02 
12.77 
3.36 
6.05 
3.36 
1.68 

10  tons 
20     " 

3     " 
6     " 

12     •' 
640  Ib. 
640 
800 
320 
320 
160 
2000 

$15.00 
30.00 

4.50 
9.00 

18.00 
8.00 
2.40 
15.20 
4.00 
7.20 
4.00 
2.00 

Manure  in  hills,  l/&  scoop-  shovel- 
ful per  hill  

Manure  in  hills,  %  scoop-  shovel- 

Manure  in  hills,  Yt.  scoop-  shovel 
f  ul  per  hill  

Steamed  bone   

Rock  phosphate  

Complete  fertilizer  

Steamed  bone  

Dried  blood  

Potassium  sulfate  

L/ime  (air-slaked)  

Based  upon  the  prices  and  quantities  given  in  Table  14,  the 
total  cost  of  materials  for  the  different  fertilizer  treatments  would 
be  as  indicated  in  Table  15. 

TABLE  15 COST  PER  ACRE  FOR  THE  DIFFERENT  FERTILIZER  TREATMENTS 


Plat 

Treatment 

Cost 

Anna 

Kinmundy 

1 

$12  60 

$15  00 

2 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  broadcast  

19.30 

23.00 

3 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast  

14.62 

17.40 

4 

Manure  broadcast  and  in  the  hill   

19.35 

24  00 

5 

Manure  broadcast  (double  amount)    

25  20 

30  00 

6 

/^  shovel  manure  in  hills  

3.38 

4  50 

7 

%  shovel  manure  in  hills,  not  mixed  

6.75 

9.00 

8 

*£  shovel  manure  in  hills,  mixed  ."  

6.75 

9.00 

9 

Manure  and  steamed  bone  in  hills  

13.47 

17.00 

10 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills  

8.77 

11.40 

11 

12 

Manure  in  hills,  complete  fertilizer  broadcast  
Manure  in  hills,  complete  fertilizer  and  lime 

19.52 
21.20 

24.20 
26.20 

13 

%i  shovel  manure  in  hills    not  mixed  

13.50 

18.00 

14 

^  shovel  manure  in  hills    mixed  

13.50 

18.00 

15 

Check.     No  fertilizer  or  manure     

16 

Steamed  bone  in  hills  

6.72 

8.00 

17 

12.77 

15.20 

18 

12.77 

15.20 

19 

Manure  in  hills    steamed  bone  broadcast  

13.47 

17.00 

20 

Manure  in  hills    rock  phosphate  broadcast  

8.77 

11.40 

1912} 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


53 


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54  BULLETIN   No.   155 

In  order  to  make  a  fair  comparison  of  the  different  fertilizer 
treatments,  the  cost  of  the  fertilizers  must  be  deducted  from  the 
net  proceeds  from  sale  of  melons.  The  net  proceeds  per  acre,  for 
each  treatment,  minus  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer,  are  given  in 
Table  16. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  relation  of  the  plats  to  one  another  is 
somewhat  different  from  that  shown  in  Table  13,  where  merely  the 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  melons  were  considered,  without  regard 
to  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer.  Owing  to  the  small  cost  of  the  fertil- 
izer used  in  Plat  6,  this  plat  stands  out  distinctly  ahead  of  all  oth- 
ers in  reference  to  average  net  proceeds  after  deducting  the  cost  of 
the  fertilizer,  for  the  three  years  it  was  included  in  the  tests  at 
Anna,  and  the  four  years  it  was  included  at  Kinmundy.  Of  the 
treatments  which  were  included  in  the  tests  the  full  five  years  at 
Anna,  that  used  in  Plat  7  (a  normal  amount  of  manure,  not  mixed 
with  the  soil  of  the  hill)  gave  the  highest  average  returns  after 
paying  for  the  fertilizer.  Plats  n,  8  and  9  were  very  nearly  alike, 
and  followed  Plat  7  in  the  order  mentioned.  In  the  field-planted  crop 
(at  Kinmundy)  the  highest  average  for  the  five  years  was  shown 
by  Plat  10,  treated  with  manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  the  hills. 
Plats  4,  ii  and  7  showed  a  variation  of  less  than  one  dollar  per 
acre  in  average  net  proceeds  after  deducting  cost  of  fertilizer,  and 
followed  Plat  10  in  the  order  named. 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  RESULTS 

A  careful  analysis  of  Tables  6,  8  and  16  will  reveal  the  relative 
influence  of  the  various  factors  involved  in  the  different  fertilizer 
treatments. 

AND 


Eight  different  treatments  involving  the  use  of  manure  alone 
were  tested.  These  included  the  use  of  two  different  quantities 
broadcast,  three  different  quantities  in  the  hill  without  mixing 
with  the  soil,  two  quantities  thoroly  mixed  with  the  soil  of  the 
hill,  and  one  treatment  in  which  the  manure  was  used  both  broad- 
cast and  in  the  hill. 

INFLUENCE  ON  YIELD  OE  EARLY  MELONS 

A  study  of  Table  6,  giving  the  yields  of  early  melons  from  the 
different  treatments,  shows  that  of  the  various  treatments  in  which 


K)i2~\  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH   MUSKMELU.NS  55 

manure  was  used  alone,  Plat  i,  to  which  a  small  quantity  of 
manure  was  applied  broadcast,  gave  almost  uniformly  the  lowest 
yields  of  early  melons,  the  average  yields  being  only  about  one- 
fourth  as  great  as  those  from  some  of  the  plats  manured  in  the 
hill.  Doubling  the  quantity  of  manure  applied  broadcast  usually 
increased  the  yield  of  early  melons,  and  was  especially  noticeable 
at  Anna  in  1908  and  1909,  and  at  Kinmundy  in  1907.  In  the 
transplanted  crop  (at  Anna)  the  heavy  broadcast  manuring  gave 
larger  average  yields  than  a  small  quantity  of  manure  applied  to 
the  hills,  but  smaller  average  yields  than  heavy  manuring  in  the 
hill.  Manuring  in  the  hill  usually  gave  the  field-planted  crop  (at 
Kinmundy)  a  more  vigorous  start  than  manuring  broadcast,  and 
thus  promoted  the  development  of  an  early"  crop ;  so  that  the  aver- 
age yield  of  early  melons  was  approximately  twice  as  great  from 
the  plats  manured  in  the  hills  as  from  the  heavy  broadcast  ma- 
nuring. 

In  applying  manure  to  the  hills,  mixing  the  manure  with  the 
soil  of  the  hill  failed  to  increase  the  yield  of  early  melons  five 
times  out  of  eight  at  Anna,  and  seven  times  out  of  ten  at  Kin- 
mnndy.  In  three  cases,  however,  there  was  a  very  large  increase 
in  early  yield,  apparently  due  to  the  mixing,  so  that  the  average 
early  yields  appear  more  strongly  in  favor  of  mixing  than  the 
facts  really  warrant.  In  a  majority  of  cases  the  yield  of  early 
melons  was  greater  where  the  manure  was  not  mixed  with  the 
soil,  but  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  and  covered  with  soil 
in  which  the  plants  were  set  or  the  seeds  planted. 

The  application  of  different  quantities  of  manure  to  the  hills 
gave  varying  results  as  to  yield  of  early  melons.  Two  years  of 
the  three  at  Anna,  y&  scoop-shovelful  of  manure  per  hill  gave  a 
larger  yield  of  early  melons  than  %  scoop-shovelful  per  hill  sim- 
ilarly applied,  and  one  year  the  yield  was  larger  from  ^  scoop- 
shovelful  than  from  J4  scoop-shovelful.  At  Kinmundy  the  yield 
was  larger  from  %  scoop-shovelful  than  from  J4  scoop-shove ful, 
similarly  applied,  two  years  out  of  four,  and  one  year  it  was  larger 
than  that  from  */>  scoop- shovel  ful.  This  was  in  a-  dry  year  (1906) 
when  the  large  mass  of  manure  seemed  to  cut  off  capillary  action 
and  retard  the  growth  of  the  vines.  All  three  years  at  Anna  and 
three  years  of  the  five  at  Kinmundy  the  average  yield  of  early  mel- 
ons from  the  two  plats  treated  with  ^2  scoop-shovelful  of  manure 
per  hill  was  greater  than  the  average  yield  from  the  two  treated 
with  y\  scoop-shovelful  per  hill.  The  failure  of  the  larger  quan- 
tity of  manure  to  produce  as  good  results  as  the  smaller  quantity 
at  Kinmundy  the  other  two  years  was  probably  due  at  least  par- 
tially to  the  fact  that  the  manure  or  mixture  of  manure  and  soil 
was  not  covered  to  a  sufficient  depth  with  the  soil  in  which  the 


56  BULLETIN   No.   155  [April, 

seeds  were  planted.  On  the  whole,  a  large  quantity  of  manure 
per  hill,  carefully  applied,  seems  to  be  more  conducive  to  the  pro- 
duction of  early  melons  than  a  small  quantity. 

When  manure  was  applied  broadcast  in  addition  to  that  used 
in  the  hills,  the  yield  of  early  melons  was  reduced  two  years  of 
the  three  at  Anna,  and  three  years  of  the  five  at  Kinmundy.  How- 
ever, the  reduction  at  Kinmundy  two  of  the  years  was  very  slight, 
and  the  large  increase  in  yield  under  this  treatment  the  other  two 
years  makes  the  five-year  average  for  the  field-planted  crop  de- 
cidedly in  favor  of  the  treatment  involving  the  use  of  manure 
broadcast  in  addition  to  that  used  in  the  hills. 

INFLUENCE  ON  TOTAL  YIELDS 

When  total  yields  of  marketable  melons  for  the  entire  season 
are  considered,  it  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Table  8  that  again 
Plat  i,  which  received  a  light  application  of  manure  broadcast, 
shows  the  smallest  average  yield  of  all  the  plats  treated  with 
manure  alone,  and  that  in  several  cases  its  yield  was  far  below  that 
of  the  other  manured  plats.  Except  at  Kinmundy  in  1909,  doub- 
ling the  quantity  of  manure  applied  broadcast  markedly  increased 
the  total  yield. 

In  the  transplanted  crop  (at  Anna)  the  heavy  application  of 
manure  broadcast  invariably  produced  a  larger  total  crop  than  did 
a  small  or  moderate  amount  of  manure  applied  to  the  hills.  In  the 
field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy)  the  results  were  more  variable, 
the  plat  heavily  manured  broadcast  producing  larger  yields  two 
years  of  the  five  than  the  plats  moderately  manured  in  the  hill, 
and  one  of  these  years  a  larger  yield  also  than  the  plat  lightly  ma- 
nured in  the  hill.  The  other  three  years'  larger  yields  were  secured 
by  manuring  lightly  or  moderately  in  the  hill  than  by  heavy  ma- 
nuring broadcast.  Where  very  heavy  manuring  in  the  hill  was 
practiced,  the  total  yields  were  larger  at  Anna  two  years  of  the 
three  than  where  heavy  broadcast  manuring  was  practiced,  tho  the 
average  for  the  three  years  is  in  favor  of  the  heavy  broadcast 
manuring  because  of  the  extremely  high  yield  one  year.  At  Kin- 
mundy the  yield  was  larger  two  years  of  the  five,  and  the  average 
yield  for  the  five  years  shows  a  slight  advantage  in  favor  of  the 
heavy  manuring  in  the  hill. 

Where  a  moderate  amount  C*4  scoop-shovelful)  of  manure 
was  applied  per  hill,  better  total  yields  were  secured  four  years  of 
the  five  at  each  place,  from  the  plat  in  which  the  manure  was  not 
mixed  with  the  soil  of  the  hill.  The  other  year  at  Anna  the  yields 
were  identical,  and  at  Kinmundy  the  difference  was  very  slightly 
in  favor  of  the  mixing.  It  is  true  that  in  some  other  cases  the 


1912]  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  \VITH   MUSKMELONS  57 

differences  were  slight,  but  the  average  for  the  five  years  shows  at 
both  places  a  substantial  advantage  in  favor  of  not  mixing. 

Where  a  larger  quantity  (l/2  scoop-shovelful)  of  manure  was 
used  per  hill,  there  was  apparently  an  advantage  in  favor  of  mix- 
ing, in  the  case  of  the  transplanted  crop  two  years  of  the  three.  In 
the  field-planted  crop,  however,  mixing  the  manure  with  the  soil 
of  the  hill  resulted  in  an  increase  in  the  crop  only  one  year  of  the 
five,  and  the  average  for  the  five  years  was  slightly  in  favor  of 
not  mixing. 

One-eighth  scoop-shovelful  of  manure  gave  at  Anna  practically 
the  same  yields  as  l/4  scoop-shovelful  two  years  of  the  three,  and 
the  other  year  gave  a  much  larger  yield.  At  Kinmundy  the  smaller 
quantity  of  manure  gave  the  larger  yield  two  years  of  the  four. 
However,  the  average  yield  at  Kinmundy  was  in  favor  of  the  *4 
scoop-shovelful  per  hill ;  while  at  Anna,  the  reverse  was  true,  on 
account  of  the  extremely  large  yield  from  the  l/&  scoop-shovelful 
per  hill  in  1908. 

One-half  scoop-shovelful  of  manure  per  hill,  as  compared  with 
l/4  scoop-shovelful  per  hill,  gave  larger  yields  at  Anna  two  years 
of  the  three,  and  at  Kinmundy  only  two  years  of  the  five,  if  the 
average  yield  for  the  two  plats  receiving  the  same  amount  of  ma- 
nure is  in  each  case  considered.  The  five-year  average  at  Kin- 
mundy shows  the  yield  to  be  higher  from  the  J4  scoop-shovelful  of 
manure  per  hill  than  from  the  T/2  scoop-shovelful.  Comparing 
plats  where  the  manure  was  similarly  applied  (without  mixing),, 
the  average  yield  for  the  four  years  was  highest  from  the  */£  scoop- 
shovelful  of  manure,  next  from  the  y2  scoop-shovelful,  and  lowest 
from  the  l/&  scoop-shovelful.  At  Anna  the  %  scoop-shovelful  of 
manure  per  hill  gave  a  higher  average  yield  for  the  three  years 
than  any  other  quantity  of  manure  in  the  hill  applied  in  the  same 
manner  (7.  e.,  without  mixing).  This  apparent  superiority  of  the 
small  quantity  of  manure  is  due  to  the  excessive  yield  from  that 
plat  in  1908,  and  may  be  misleading. 

In  the  transplanted  crop  the  use  of  a  large  amount  of  manure 
mixed  with  the  soil  of  the  hill  gave  larger  average  yields  than  any 
other  method  of  manuring  in  the  hill  alone,  while  in  the  field- 
planted  crop  a  moderate  amount  of  manure  not  mixed  gave  the 
best  average  total  yields. 

The  use  of  a  small  quantity  of  manure  broadcast  in  addition 
to  a  moderate  amount  in  the  hills,  made  a  marked  increase  in  the 
total  yield  at  Anna  two  years  of  the  three  and  gave  practically  the 
same  yield  the  other  year;  at  Kinmundy  there  was  a  marked  in- 
crease two  years  of  the  five,  a  slight  increase  another  year,  and  a 
small  decrease  in  yield  the  other  two  years.  The  five-year  aver- 
age at  Kinmundy  shows  the  highest  yield  to  be  from  this  method 


58  BULLETIN   No.    155  [April, 

of  manuring  as  compared  with  all  others,  and  the  three-year  aver- 
age at  Anna  is  but  .03  pound  per  hill  below  the  highest  yield,  that 
from  the  use  of  a  large  amount  of  manure  broadcast. 

NET  PROCEEDS 

Altho  the  use  of  larger  quantities  of  manure  gave,  in  many 
cases,  higher  average  yields,  the  cost  of  a  small  application  to  the 
hills  alone  was  so  much  smaller  than  that  of  a  large  quantity 
applied  to  the  hills  or  broadcast,  or  both,  that  the  average  net  pro- 
ceeds from  the  sale  of  melons  minus  the  cost  of  the  fertilizing  ma- 
terial, was  greater  for  the  small  quantity  of  manure  (%  scoop- 
shovelful  per  hill)  applied  to  the  hills  than  for  any  other  treat- 
ment for  the  three  years  this  treatment  was  tested  at  Anna  and  the 
four  years  it  was  tested  at  Kinmundy.  (See  Table  16.) 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  ADDITION  OF  PHOSPHORUS  TO 

THE  MANURE 

The  soil  at  both  Anna  and  Kinmundy  is  rather  deficient  in 
phosphorus.  The  two  leading  forms  in  which  this  element  is 
used  as  a  fertilizer  in  Illinois  are  steamed  bone  meal  and  finely 
ground  raw  rock  phosphate.  Each  of  these  materials  was  applied 
in  the  hill  with  the  manure  in  the  hill  five  years  at  each  place,  and 
broadcast  with  manure  broadcast  three  years  at  Anna  and  five 
years  at  Kinmundy.  Each  material  was  also  used  broadcast  in 
conjunction  with  manure  in  the  hill  three  years  at  each  place.  In 
all  cases  the  amount  of  manure  used  per  hill  was  J4  scoop-shovelful 
and  the  amount  applied  broadcast  500  pounds  per  plat — the  same 
quantity  as  that  used  alone  on  Plat  i. 

INELUE.NCE  ON  EARLY  YIELDS 

The  use  of  steamed  bone  and  of  rock  phosphate  in  combination 
with  manure  broadcast  increased  the  yield  of  early  melons  all  three 
years  at  Anna  and  two  years  of  the  five  at  Kinmundy.  The  five- 
year  average  at  Kinmundy  was  also  increased.  At  both  places  the 
average  yield  of  early  melons  was  greater  for  the  steamed  bone 
than  for  the  rock  phosphate  when  both  were  used  broadcast  with 
manure  broadcast.  However,  the  yields  of  early  melons  from  all 
three  of  these  treatments  were  comparatively  low. 

When  applied  to  the  hills,  mixed  with  the  manure  of  the  hill, 
the  steamed  bone  gave  increased  early  yields  four  times  at  Anna 
and  twice  at  Kinmundy.  The  five-year  average  at  Anna  shows  a 
decided  advantage  in  favor  of  the  use  of  bone,  largely  on  account 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS  59 

of  the  greatly  increased  yield  in  1905.  At  Kinmundy  the  five-year 
average  shows  no  difference  in  the  early  yields  whether  steamed 
bone  was  used  with  the  manure  in  the  hills  or  an  equal  quantity  of 
manure  used  alone  and  applied  in  a  similar  manner.* 

When  rock  phosphate  was  used  in  combination  with  manure  in 
the  hills,  it  increased  the  yield  two  of  the  five  years  at  Anna  and 
four  years  at  Kinmundy.  Two  of  the  other  years  at  Anna  the 
plat  receiving  this  treatment  (Plat  10)  was  at  a  disadvantage, 
being  shaded  by  a  belt  of  timber  in  1906  and  severely  attacked  by 
lice  in  1907.  In  spite  of  the  disadvantage  these  two  years,  the 
average  yield  of  early  melons  for  the  five  years  at  Anna  was  only 
slightly  less  where  the  rock  phosphate  was  used  with  the  manure 
in  -the  hills  than  where  manure  was  used  alone  and  applied  in  a 
similar  manner.  At  Kinmundy,  where  the  test  was  on  a  fairer 
basis,  the  five-year  average  shows  a  marked  increase  in  yield  of 
early  melons,  evidently  due  to  the  use  of  the  rock  phosphate  with 
the  manure  in  the  hills. 

The  use  of  steamed  bone  broadcast  in  conjunction  with  ma- 
nure in  the  hills  increased  the  yield  of  early  melons  one  year  at 
Anna  and  two  years  at  Kinmundy  in  three  years'  testing;  and  for 
the  three-year  average  gave  an  increase  at  Anna  but  a  decrease  at 
Kinmundy.  Rock  phosphate  broadcast  in  conjunction  with  ma- 
nure in  the  hills  gave  an  increase  two  years  at  Anna  and  one  year 
at  Kinmundy;  and  the  three-year  average  showed  an  increase  at 
Anna  but  not  at  Kinmundy. 

INFLUENCE  ON  TOTAL  YIELDS 

The  addition  of  steamed  bone  to  the  manure  broadcast  in- 
creased the  total  yield  two  years  of  'the  three  at  Anna  and  four 
years  of  the  five  at  Kinmundy.  The  other  year  the  yields  from  the 
two  plats  \vere  the  same  at  Anna  and  practically  the  same  at  Kin- 
mundy, so  that  the  average  for  the  series  of  years  was  plainly  in- 
creased by  the  addition  of  the  steamed  bone.  The  addition  of  the 
rock  phosphate  to  the  manure  broadcast  increased  the  yield  every 
year  at  Anna  but  only  two  years  at  Kinmundy,  and  the  five-year 
average  at  Kinmundy  was  practically  the  same  as  where  the  ma- 
nure was  used  alone. 

The  addition  of  steamed  bone  to  the  manure  in  the  hills  in- 
creased the  yield  at  Anna  three  years  of  five  but  at  Kinmundv  only 


*As  already  explained,  the  steamed  bone  and  manure  or  rock  phosphate 
and  manure  used  in  Plats  9  and  10  were  thoroly  mixed  with  the  soil  in  making 
the  hills  at  Anna,  but  were  left  unmixed  at  Kinmundy.  Hence,  in  determining 
the  effect  of  the  steamed  bone  or  rock  phosphate,  the  yields  from  these  plats 
at  Anna  are  compared  with  Plat  8  ("manure  in  hills,  mixed"),  and  at  Kin- 
mundy with  Plat  7  ("manure  in  hills,  not  m\xed"). 


60  BULLETIN   No.   155  [April, 

one  year.  The  five-year  average  showed  an  increase  at  Anna  but 
a  decrease  at  Kinmundy.  Rock  phosphate  used  with  the  manure 
in  the  hills  increased  the  crop  two  years  at  Anna  and  three  years 
at  Kinmundy.  The  five-year  average  at  Anna  shows  a  smaller 
crop  where  the  rock  phosphate  was  used  than  where  the  manure 
was  used  alone;  but  this  is  due  to  the  very  low  yields  from  the 
rock  phosphate  plat  in  1906  and  1907,  occasioned  by  the  circum- 
stances already  mentioned.  The  five-year  average  at  Kinmundy 
shows  an  advantage  in  favor  of  the  use  of  rock  phosphate  in  con- 
junction with  the  manure  in  the  hills. 

The  use  of  steamed  bone  broadcast  in  conjunction  with  ma- 
nure in  the  hills  increased  the  total  yield  all  three  years  at  Anna 
but  only  one  of  the  three  years  at  Kinmundy.  Rock  phosphate  in 
conjunction  with  manure  in  the  hills  likewise  increased  the  yield 
every  year  at  Anna  but  only  one  year  at  Kinmundy. 

NET  PROFITS 

The  use  of  steamed  bone  and  of  rock  phosphate  with  the  ma- 
nure broadcast  increased  the  average  net  profits  after  deducting 
the  cos.t  of  the  materials,  as  well  as  increasing  the  average  yield 
as  compared  with  that  from  the  use  of  manure  broadcast  alone. 
The  rock  phosphate  gave  the  greater  average  profit  at  Anna,  but 
the  steamed  bone  at  Kinmundy.  When  applied  to  the  hills  along 
with  manure  in  the  hills,  neither  the  steamed  bone  nor  the  rock 
phosphate  increased  the  average  net  profits  at  Anna,  altho  the 
bone  increased  the  average  yield  per  hill,  for  the  cost  of  the  mate- 
rial exceeded  the  difference  in  the  value  of  the  crop.  At  Kin- 
mundy the  use  of  rock  phosphate  in  the  hills  in  addition  to  manure 
resulted  in  a  slight  increase*  in  the  net  profits  based  on  the  five- 
year  average.  The  use  of  steamed  bone  in  the  hills  was  not  profit- 
able because  it  failed  to  increase  the  average  yield,  and  added  to 
the  expense  of  producing  the  crop. 

INFLUENCE  OF  A  COMPLETE  FERTILIZER  IN  ADDI- 
TION TO  MANURE 

The  complete  fertilizer  used  in  these  experiments  v/as  a  home- 
mixed  material  consisting  of  two  parts  steamed  bone,  two  parts 
dried  blood,  and  one  part  potassium  snlfate.  The  use  of  this  ma- 
terial broadcast  in  addition  to  manure  in  the  hills  increased  the 
yield  of  early  melons  three  years  at  Anna  and  two  years  at  Kin- 
mundy, and  gave  for  the  five-year  average  an  increased  yield  at 
Anna  but  identical  yields  at  Kinmundy.  In  total  yields,  however, 
the  five-year  average  shows  at  both  places  an  advantage  in  favor 


i<)i2\  FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS  61 

of  the  plat  receiving  the  fertilizer  in  addition  to  the  manure.  The 
average  net  proceeds,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  the  fertilizing  ma- 
terials, were  also  slightly  greater  at  both  places  from  the  plats  to 
which  the  fertilizer  was  applied  in  addition  to  the  manure,  than 
from  those  in  which  the  manure  was  used  alone. 

The  application  of  lime  broadcast  in  addition  to  the  fertilizer 
and  manure  increased  the  yields  of  early  melons  two  years  of  the 
five  at  Anna  and  only  one  year  at  Kinmundy.  For  the  five-year 
average  this  treatment  gave  a  lower  yield  of  early  melons  at  both, 
•places  than  the  manure  and  fertilizer  without  the  lime;  and  at 
Kinmundy  a  smaller  yield  than  the  manure  used  alone.  However, 
the  total  yields  for  the  entire  season  were  increased  three  years  of 
the  five  at  Anna  by  the  addition  of  the  lime.  The  five-year  average 
also  shows  an  advantage  in  favor  of  the  addition  of  the  lime.  At 
Kinmundy,  however,  the  total  yield  was  usually  less  from  the  plat 
receiving  the  lime  in  addition  to  the  manure  and  fertilizer  than 
from  those  receiving  the  manure  and  fertilizer  or  the  manure  alone. 

Altho  there  was  a  slight  increase  in  the  average  total  yield  per 
hill  at  Anna,  apparently  due  to  the  use  of  the  lime,  the  average  net 
proceeds  after  deducting  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer  were  less  than 
from  the  plat  receiving  identical  treatment  except  for  the  omission 
of  the  lime.  At  Kinmundy  the  average  profits  were  very  much  less 
from  the  limed  than  from  the  corresponding  unlimed  plat.  Under 
the  conditions  of  these  experiments,  therefore,  there  seemed  to  be 
no  advantage  derived  from  the  use  of  lime  on  the  melon  crop. 

ATTEMPTS  TO  GROW  MELONS  WITHOUT  MANURE 

On  account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  manure  in  some  places, 
the  substitution  of  commercial  fertilizer  for  manure  in  the  produc- 
tion of  melons  has  been  suggested.  The  tests  reported  in  this 
publication  show  that  steamed  bone  applied  to  the  hills  gave  fairly 
good  results,  tho  the  average  yield  of  both  early  melons  and  total 
crop  was  less  at  both  places  than  from  the  use  of  a  moderate 
amount  of  manure  in  the  Kills.  The  vines  usually  made  a  good 
growth  early  in  the  season,  but  the  leaves  often  turned  brown  at 
the  edges  before  the  crop  matured.  This  was  especially  noticeable 
in  the  field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy).  The  yield  as  compared 
with  the  crop  manured  in  the  hill  was  better  at  Anna  than  at  Kin- 
mundy, indicating  that  this  method  of  fertilizing  is  better  adapted 
to  a  transplanted  than  to  a  field-planted  crop.  The  average  net 
profits  for  the  crop  after  deducting  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer  were 
very  much  less  at  both  places  from  the  use  of  steamed  bone  than 
from  the  use  of  a  moderate  amount  of  manure  in  the  hills. 

When  a  complete  fertilizer  of  the  same  composition  as  that 
used  broadcast  in  Plats  n  and  12  was  used  in  the  hills  in  place  of 


62 


BULLETIN   No.    155 


[April, 


manure,  the  yields  were  greatly  reduced  as  compared  with  those 
from  the  use  of  manure  alone.  This  was  especially  marked  in  the 
field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy),  where  many  plants  were  killed 
outright  by  the  fertilizer  and  the  maturing  of  the  melons  was  greatly 
delayed  on  those  that  remained.  The  results  were  similar  whether 
the  fertilizer  was  thoroly  mixed  with  the  soil  or  placed  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  furrow  and  covered  to  a  considerable  depth,  tho  some- 
what worse  where  the  mixing  was  done.  In  the  latter  case  the 
average  proceeds  from  the  melons  were  less  than  the  cost  of  the 
fertilizer,  showing  that  this  method  of  fertilizing  is  utterly  un- 
adapted  to  a  field-planted  crop  under  the  conditions  of  these  ex- 
periments. With  the  transplanted  crop  (at  Anna)  the  results  were 
much  better,  tho  the  average  yields  were  considerably  less  than 
from  the  use  of  steamed  bone  alone,  while  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer 
was  much  greater,  thus  making  a  marked  difference  in  the  net 
profits  in  favor  of  the  bone.  Both  treatments,  however,  were  much 
less  profitable  than  the  use  of  manure. 

The  yields  from  the  check  plat,  to  which  no  manure  or  fertil- 
izer was  applied  for  the  melon  crop,  show  that  under  the  conditions 
of  the  experiments  here  reported  this  method  of  growing  melons 
was  decidedly  unsatisfactory  in  point  of  yields  and  profits.  The 
delay  in  maturing  of  the  crop  due  to  the  lack  of  plant  food  was  a 
feature  especially  worthy  of  notice  in  the  field-planted  crop.  Three 


FIG.  4.    MELONS  MANURED  IN  THE  HILL.    PLATS  6  AND  7, 
KINMUNDY,  SEPT.  6,  1907. 


/$>/.?] 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  MUSKMELONS 


63 


FIG.  5.    MELONS  TREATED  WITH  A  COMPLETE  COMMERCIAL  FERTI- 
LIZER IN  THE  HILL.    PLATS  17  AND  18,  KINMUNDY,  SEPT.  6, 1907. 

years  of  the  five  at  Kinmuridy  there  were  no  "early  melons"  what- 
ever produced  on  the  untreated  plat.  The  total  yields,  also,  were 
usually  deficient.  Even  in  1908  and  1909,  when  the  melons  were 
planted  as  the  first  crop  on  newly  cleared  timber  land,  the  check 
plat  produced  an  insignificant  yield  as  compared  with  the  manured 
plats. 

In  the  transplanted  crop  (at  Anna)  the  untreated  plat  made  a 
better  showing  than  the  field-planted  crop  (at  Kinmundy),  but  in 
early  melons,  total  yield,  and  net  profits,  the  crop  was  far  inferior 
to  that  on  plats  manured  in  the  hill. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  results  of  the  experiments  reported  in  this  publication  in- 
dicate that  there  may  be  wide  differences  in  the  relative  effects  of 
different  fertilizer  treatments  for  Gem  melons  in  different  seasons. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  this  finding,  the  results  show  plainly  (i)  that  under 
the  conditions  of  these  experiments  manuring  in  the  hill  is  far  su- 
perior to  broadcast  manuring,  unless  a  very  large  amount  of  ma- 
nure can  be  used;  (2)  that  a  large  amount  of  manure  used  in  the 
hills  is  conducive  to  the  production  of  a  large  yield  of  early  melons, 
but  (3)  that  a  small  amount  of  manure  (2.25  to  3  tons  per  acre) 
carefully  applied  to  the  hills  may  produce  a  greater  net  profit  than 
a  larger  amount  (4.5  to  12  tons  per  acre)  applied  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, or  a  still  larger  amount  ( 16  to  20  tons  per  acre)  applied  broad- 


64 


BULLETIN  No.  155 


[April,  1912 


cast,  even  tho  the  yields  may  be  somewhat  smaller;  (4)  that  altho 
the  highest  average  yield  in  the  field-planted  crop  and  the  second 
highest  in  the  transplanted  crop  were  produced  by  the  plats  receiv- 
ing manure  both  broadcast  and  in  the  hills,  the  expense  of  so  much 
manure  may  so  reduce  the  profits  that  they  will  be  less  than  from 
some  other  treatment;  (5)  that  mixing  the  manure  with  the  soil 
of  the  hill,  altho  it  increases  the  labor  of  planting  the  crop,  has  no 
apparent  advantage  over  applying  the  same  amount  of  manure 
without  mixing,  except  possibly  in  the  case  of  a  large  amount  of 
manure  applied  to  the  transplanted  crop;  (6)  that  the  addition  of 
raw  rock  phosphate  to  a  moderate  amount  of  manure  in  the  hills 
may  increase  the  yield  of  early  melons,  the  total  yield  and  the  net 
profits,  in  the  field-planted  crop;  (7)  that  the  use  o'f  a  complete 
fertilizer  (consisting  of  steamed  bone,  dried  blood  and  potassium 
sulfate)  applied  broadcast  in  addition  to  manuring  in  the  hill,  is 
conducive  to  the  production  of  large  total  yields,  but  that  the  high 
cost  of  this  fertilizer  may  render  its  use  inadvisable;  (8)  that  the 
application  of  this  same  fertilizer  to  the  hills  in  lieu  of  manure  is 
attended  with  great  danger,  especially  to  the  field-planted  crop,  and 
may  greatly  reduce  the  yield  as  compared  with  no  fertilizer  treat- 
ment; (9)  that  a  fair  crop  of  melons  may  sometimes  be  produced 
by  the  use  of  steamed  bone  alone  in  the  hills,  tho  the  results  are  less 
satisfactory  than  from  the  use  of  manure,  especially  for  the  field- 
planted  crop;  and  (10)  that  on  the  type  of  soil  and  with  the  cul- 
tural methods  used  for  the  field-planted  crop  in  these  experiments, 
it  is  unwise  to  attempt  to  produce  a  crop  of  melons  without  the  ap- 
plication of  plant  food. 


' 


FIG.  6.    PARTIAL  VIEW  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  MELON  PLANTATION, 
ANNA,  ILLINOIS,  JULY  23,  1908. 


*  »"&"•<»*. 


'* 


" 


L 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

Q  630.7IL6B  C001 

BULLETIN.  URBANA 
153-1651912-13 


30112019528428 


•      '• 


